Chapter 81: Give Paw

Asked to spell out his wish, Denji tells Makima he is finished making his own choices, since every fresh bond and obligation has only heaped grief and regret onto his decisions. Putting each choice in her hands, he reasons, will let him live relaxed and free of blame. She checks whether he is certain, and he gives only a limp thumbs-up.

She tries out her fresh authority by ordering tricks: give paw, then roll over. Denji obeys each and is patted in reward, feeling truly content. A knock breaks the moment; Makima admits she invited Power. When Denji starts to ask why, she tells him not to think, and he answers with a woof. She steers him to the entrance and tells him to open it so she can kill Power. He woofs again, then stiffens in sudden unease.

As she keeps nudging him on, Denji stammers and asks if she means it, but she brushes the hesitation aside, her words laid over Pochita's nightmare command not to open the door. Inching toward the handle, Denji pictures Power outside clutching a cake, puzzles over why, then remembers tomorrow is his birthday. The door opens onto Power, standing there with a cake. Before either can stir, Makima points a finger, utters 'Bang', and Power's midsection bursts apart. Denji stares in frozen, silent shock as the head and legs hit the floor. Makima takes his cold hands, calls them chilled again, orders him back inside, and smiles while he sweats and cannot force out a word.

Denji hands his decision-making over to Makima, who proves her grip by making him perform dog tricks. She lures Power to the apartment under cover of Denji's coming birthday. Made to open the door despite Pochita's buried warning, Denji exposes Power, whom Makima kills instantly with her 'Bang' power, leaving him stunned and mute.

The 19-page chapter sits in Volume 10 within the Control Devil arc. Power dies here, while Pochita appears only as a voice and Aki Hayakawa in mention. Per the trivia, the painting in Makima's hallway comes from Gustave Doré, an engraving he produced for Paradise Lost by Milton, showing Satan as he sets out to bring about humanity's fall.